Counter drive mechanism



.lune 2,2, 1937. M. M. HENNEssY A 2,084,395

COUNTER DRIVE MECHANISM Filed June 29, 1934 Z T ,2f/*v3.1

N EMO y ls- WIIIIIIIIIII' INVENTOR ATTORNEY arcuate slot 23 in Patented June 22, 1937 2,084,396 COUNTER DRIVE MECHANISM Mark M. Hennessy, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Durant Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application June 29,

7 Claims.

The invention relates to counters and more particularly to those recording devices in which one of a plurality of counters is adapted to be selectively driven from a common drive shaft.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient mechanism for shifting the drive from one counter to another through the simple shifting action of a lever, the inoperative counter being locked or restrained from actuation. More particularly the present invention embodies a toggle shift arrangement for selectively bringing one of the gears of the drive mechanism into operative position.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of a recording device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a detail kplan view of the mechanism embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 4 designates the drive shaft which may be driven in any suitable manner from any suitable source of power and is here shown as driven from a centrally disposed shaft 5 through suitable gearing (not shown) and is connected through gearing hereinafter described to either one of the counter shafts 6 which have the usual counter wheels I thereon indicated in Fig. 1 but not shown in detail herein.

A shiftable frame 8 is mounted'to swing about the shaft 4 as a center and has the gears 9 journalled thereon in constant mesh with a gear Ill on the drive shaft 4 and adapted to be alternately moved into mesh with a gear II on either of the shafts 6. The frame 8 is maintained in a central inoperative position by a detent I2 urged by a spring I3 to engage a recess I4 in said frame. The frame is held in either of its gear driving positions by toggle mechanism connected with the ends of said frame and comprising in each instance a toggle link member I6 pivotally connected at one end by a pin I1 to said frame and at its other end formed into a shouldered pin I8 to receive one end of a spring I9 whose other end seats on the spring seat plug in threaded engagement with the casing 2 I. The swinging movement of the frame 8 is limited by a pin 22 fixed to .the casing and working in an said frame.

The frame 8 is shifted by means of a lever 24 pivoted intermediate its ends on the shaft 25 1934, Serial N0. '132,988

(Cl. 'I4-389) and having one arm formed to engage in a slot 26 in said frame while the other arm projects ythrough a slot 21 in the cover 28 and forms a handle 29.

With the above described arrangement when the handle 29 is shifted toward the right, the frame 8 is shifted or swung to bring the right hand gear 9v into mesh with the gear II on the right hand counter shaft B and is held in this biased position by the action of the springs I9 thereon through the members IB and when said handle is shifted toward the left the left hand gear 9 meshes with the left head counter gear II and the frame is held in this position as before by the springs I8 and members I6. Thus eithel` counter may be selectively driven from the drive shaft 4 to take care for example of day and night production.

To prevent slippage of the undriven counter each counter has a locking detent 30 associated with it in the form of a bell crank lever pivoted at 3l to the casing and provided with a tooth 32 normally urged by a spring 33 into engagement with one of the teeth of the gear Il, the other arm 34 of said lever adapted to engage a cam surface 35 of the frame 4 so that when said frame is shifted, one of these cam surfaces 35 will act on the lever associated therewith to swing said lever to release its tooth 32 from engagement with the adjacent gear Il. Thus when the handle 29 is shifted to the right to establish the drive to the right hand counter shaft 6, the detent 30 for the gear 'Il of this shaft is shifted tc release position and similarly when the left hand drive is established, the detent 30 for the left hand counter shaft 6 is released.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement f parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a drive shaft and a pair of counter shafts, a separate gearing connection between said drive shaft and each of said counter shafts including a shiftable idler gear to connect said drive shaft with one of said counter shafts, a shiftable frame on which said shiftable idler gears are mounted, means for holding said frame ineither of its driving positions, means for restraining the movement of the undriven counter shaft, and means operatively connected to said frame for shifting the same.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a drive shaft and a pair of counter shafts, a separate gearing connection between the same.

3. In a device of combination of a said frame for shifting thesarne.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination said .fra-me for shifting the same.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a drive shaft having a gear mounted thereon, a pair of counter shafts, a.

gear on each of said counter shafts, a swinging frame, a swinging lever connected to swing said frame, a separate releasabie gearing connection either of its gears.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a drive shaft, a pair of counter gear on said drive shaft, a gear on each either of its driving positions.

7. In a device a driving position, nected to said frame for shifting the same.

MARK M. HENNESSY. 

